Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-09-12

IELTS Writing Task 1 question

Mrs Barrett, an English-speaking woman who lives in your town, has advertised for someone to help her in her home for a few hours a day next summer.

Write a letter to Mrs Barrett. In your letter

• suggest how you could help her in her home
• say why you would like to do this work
• explain when you will and will not be available

You do NOT need to write any addresses.

Begin your letter as follows:

Dear Mrs Barrett,

Student answer (Band 5.5)

Dear Mrs Barrett,

I have come across an advertisement posted in the newspaper about looking for help at your house for few hours in this summer.

From my previous job experience, I holds expertise in house cleaning, organinssation of storage as well as other things, cutting lawns and hold somewhat knowledge of repairing broken furniture. This is because, I have been employed every summer to carried out help with houshold services.

I am currently a student in Carlenton University pursuing my Bachelors in computer science, and I have summer break coming up so I am looking for a summer job to either work part time or full time. It would help to save some money towards my tution fees.

I have already been hired few days a week at other 2 individual homes in order to help with lawn and pool cleaning.Therefore, my available days would be every Tuesday and Thursday. I prefer timing from early afternoon to evening as I travels by a bike so that I can reach my home by the night.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0

The candidate has successfully addressed all three bullet points required in the task instructions. They suggested specific ways to help in the home, including house cleaning, storage organisation, lawn cutting, and minor furniture repairs, as stated in the phrase 'I holds expertise in house cleaning, organinssation of storage as well as other things, cutting lawns'. They also explained why they would like to do this work by mentioning their need for a summer job to save money for tuition fees ('It would help to save some money towards my tution fees'). Finally, they clearly outlined their availability ('every Tuesday and Thursday') and when they would not be available due to prior commitments. The tone is appropriately polite and semi-formal for a letter to an acquaintance or local resident, fulfilling the purpose well. Therefore, this performance aligns closely with Band 6.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The letter maintains a clear and coherent overall arrangement, with paragraphs logically separated into an introduction, proposed tasks, motivation, and availability. Cohesive devices are used, such as 'This is because', 'Therefore', and 'in order to', although some referencing is slightly mechanical or awkward, as seen in 'as well as other things'. Paragraphing is used sufficiently to structure the response, ensuring the reader can easily follow the sequence of ideas from the applicant's skills to their schedule. Minor flaws in cohesion prevent a higher score, but the text is clear throughout, earning a solid Band 6.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The candidate demonstrates an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, attempting less common items such as 'expertise', 'pursuing', and 'commitment' equivalents. However, there are notable word-choice and spelling errors that affect precision, including 'organinssation' (organisation), 'houshold' (household), 'tution' (tuition), and the awkward collocation 'cutting lawns' rather than mowing lawns. Despite these errors, the meaning remains clear throughout the letter, allowing the reader to understand all intended points without strain. This performance is characteristic of Band 5.5, rounding to Band 6 for adequate task coverage.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

The writer attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, such as the relative clause in 'an advertisement posted in the newspaper' and conditional-style temporal clauses. However, there are frequent grammatical errors, particularly subject-verb agreement issues like 'I holds expertise' and 'as I travels'. Other errors include tense misuse, such as 'to carried out' instead of 'to carry out', and preposition or article inaccuracies ('at other 2 individual homes'). While these errors are noticeable and detract from grammatical control, they rarely impede overall communication, placing the performance firmly in the Band 5 category.

See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.

Browse more IELTS Writing model answers or get your own writing scored by the same AI examiner.